Midshipman 1st Class Max Allen (Navy)

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The Naval Academy has identified Midshipman 1st Class Max Allen as the body found near a sunken car on campus Sunday, according to a release.

Allen, 25, was an oceanography major and member of the brigade’s 1st Company from Chesterfield, Va., the release said.

His body was found underwater near a sunken car on the Naval Academy campus Sunday, an academy spokesman said, in a rare on-base tragedy that has dismayed students and faculty.

“The Naval Academy is deeply saddened by the tragic death of Midshipman Max Allen. It is painful to lose a member of our Naval Academy family, and as we attempt to better understand this tremendous loss, we offer our deepest condolences to Max’s family, close friends, classmates and company mates during this extremely difficult time,” Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Michael Miller said in a statement.

An academy staff member noticed Allen’s white SUV submerged in College Creek, near the Nimitz Library, Sunday afternoon, Cmdr. John Schofield said.

An Anne Arundel County Fire Department dive team discovered the body near the seawall while searching the vehicle. The time of the accident is unknown.

“[The Naval Criminal Investigative Service] is using all of the information and all of the resources available to try to ascertain when the accident took place,” Schofield said.

Allen was due to join the fleet as a Naval Flight Officer following graduation and commissioning this year, the release said. He was also a member of the academy’s club soccer, Italian-American and Japanese-American clubs. He spent two years studying at Virginia Tech before transferring to the Naval Academy.

Schofield could not confirm whether Allen had been missing before his body was discovered. As it was a holiday weekend, “myriad midshipmen were on leave or weekend passes,” he said.

The vehicle was pulled from the water Monday for examination by NCIS and Naval Support Activity Annapolis Police. Schofield could not say when a cause of death or toxicology report might become available.